Fred Gunner
AH elite
A polar bear has killed a man in Norway's Arctic Spitsbergen island, local officials say.
The attack occurred at a campsite near Longyearbyen, the main town of the island in the Svalbard archipelago.
The bear was then shot and found dead at the local airport.
The man, identified as 38-year-old Dutch citizen Johan Jacobus Kootte, was attacked in his tent before dawn on Friday and died shortly afterwards of his injuries.
Svalbard officials say there were seven people on the site at the time and they are being looked after by health services.
Campsite owner Michelle van Dijk said the man who died had been in his second season as manager; "He had done the right training and knew how everything worked there," she told Dutch public broadcaster NOS.
There had been a warning on Thursday of a polar bear roaming around Longyearbyen, she said. "He said the situation was under control."
Soelvi Elvedah, deputy governor on Norway's Svalbard archipelago, said the Dutch camping site worker was mauled in his tent early on Friday. Rushed to hospital in the main town of Longyearbyen, the 38-year-old was declared dead.
The bear too was found fatally wounded at a nearby airport parking lot after being shot by onlookers. Six other people were hospitalized for shock.
People outside Svalbard’s main settlements are required to carry a means to protect themselves from animals. Authorities recommend carrying a gun.
Norwegian NRK broadcasting said Friday's pre-dawn fatality was the fifth person killed by polar bears since 1971. The last was in 2011 when a British student among campers on a school trip. In 2015, a Czech tourist, also in a tent, survived as gunshots drove that bear away.
An advice website for visitors says the bears can appear anywhere on Svalbard and urges people to stay as far away as possible to avoid situations that could be dangerous “for you and for the bear”. It is understood that staff working at the campsite have firearms.
Svalbard is dotted with warnings about polar bears. Visitors who choose to sleep outdoors receive stern warnings from the authorities that people must carry firearms when moving outside settlements.
The last death from a polar bear encounter in Svalbard happened in 2011 when Horatio Chapple, a 17-year-old boy from Salisbury, south-west England, was killed at a campsite while on a trip organised by the British Schools Exploring Society.
In 2015, a polar bear dragged a Czech tourist out of his tent as he and others were camping north of Longyearbyen, clawing his back before being driven away by gunshots.
Elvedahl said it was not clear if a guard against bears had been stationed at the campsite. “It will be part of the investigation. We are in bear territory, and polar bears are a danger to humans.”
Six other people were staying in tents at the campsite when the attack took place. According to NRK, the campsite does not allow guests to have firearms on the site and does not advise bear alarms or the use of flares as bear deterrents during the summer season when bear approaches are less frequent.
The campsite’s owner, it emerged, had recently purchased electric bear fencing to protect the site.
The attack took place amid several recent sightings of bears around Svalbard. A female bear with young was darted and moved, while on Tuesday night two bears were observed near Longyearbyen.
dailycaller.com
www.theguardian.com
www.dw.com
The attack occurred at a campsite near Longyearbyen, the main town of the island in the Svalbard archipelago.
The bear was then shot and found dead at the local airport.
The man, identified as 38-year-old Dutch citizen Johan Jacobus Kootte, was attacked in his tent before dawn on Friday and died shortly afterwards of his injuries.
Svalbard officials say there were seven people on the site at the time and they are being looked after by health services.
Campsite owner Michelle van Dijk said the man who died had been in his second season as manager; "He had done the right training and knew how everything worked there," she told Dutch public broadcaster NOS.
There had been a warning on Thursday of a polar bear roaming around Longyearbyen, she said. "He said the situation was under control."
Soelvi Elvedah, deputy governor on Norway's Svalbard archipelago, said the Dutch camping site worker was mauled in his tent early on Friday. Rushed to hospital in the main town of Longyearbyen, the 38-year-old was declared dead.
The bear too was found fatally wounded at a nearby airport parking lot after being shot by onlookers. Six other people were hospitalized for shock.
People outside Svalbard’s main settlements are required to carry a means to protect themselves from animals. Authorities recommend carrying a gun.
Norwegian NRK broadcasting said Friday's pre-dawn fatality was the fifth person killed by polar bears since 1971. The last was in 2011 when a British student among campers on a school trip. In 2015, a Czech tourist, also in a tent, survived as gunshots drove that bear away.
An advice website for visitors says the bears can appear anywhere on Svalbard and urges people to stay as far away as possible to avoid situations that could be dangerous “for you and for the bear”. It is understood that staff working at the campsite have firearms.
Svalbard is dotted with warnings about polar bears. Visitors who choose to sleep outdoors receive stern warnings from the authorities that people must carry firearms when moving outside settlements.
The last death from a polar bear encounter in Svalbard happened in 2011 when Horatio Chapple, a 17-year-old boy from Salisbury, south-west England, was killed at a campsite while on a trip organised by the British Schools Exploring Society.
In 2015, a polar bear dragged a Czech tourist out of his tent as he and others were camping north of Longyearbyen, clawing his back before being driven away by gunshots.
Elvedahl said it was not clear if a guard against bears had been stationed at the campsite. “It will be part of the investigation. We are in bear territory, and polar bears are a danger to humans.”
Six other people were staying in tents at the campsite when the attack took place. According to NRK, the campsite does not allow guests to have firearms on the site and does not advise bear alarms or the use of flares as bear deterrents during the summer season when bear approaches are less frequent.
The campsite’s owner, it emerged, had recently purchased electric bear fencing to protect the site.
The attack took place amid several recent sightings of bears around Svalbard. A female bear with young was darted and moved, while on Tuesday night two bears were observed near Longyearbyen.
Report: Polar Bear Kills Man, The First Time In 9 Years
A man in Norway was killed by a polar bear Friday morning, Reuters reported.
dailycaller.com
Polar bear kills man at campsite on Norwegian archipelago of Svalbard
Foreign visitor was pronounced dead on arrival at hospital in Longyearbyen
Polar bear kills Dutch man on Svalbard – DW – 08/28/2020
A Dutch campsite worker in Norway's Arctic has been killed by a polar bear on the remote Svalbard archipelago. Visitors to the islands are warned to take precautions, and such cases are rather rare.
www.dw.com
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